Blown Away: Designing and Retrofitting Facades for Wind-borne Debris Protection

The pathway to sustainable and resilient buildings and urban habitat winds right through the building facade. Tall building facades are a particular concern in tropical cities subject to extreme weather events, especially with respect to wind. What are the risks and what are the issues with respect to securing insurance from Texas Department of Insurance for buildings in the windborne debris areas of Texas? This session will focus on managing the current and emerging wind threat, and includes a brief historical review of hurricane events in Texas and the U.S., damage that has occurred to the building envelope from windborne debris, improvements to building facade technology, and the continuing challenges of designing curtain walls and facades in highly transparent structural glass applications.